Oven viewing window for domestic range



0C*- 5, 1964 K. is KEr-:L1NG, sR., ETAL 3,151,612

OVEN VIEWING WINDOW FOR DOMESTIC RANGE ,Filed oct. so, 1962 KERNHT B. KEELUUQSR SWALTER E. LVKHS BY @M im THER ATTORNEY I United States Patent O 3,151,612 OVEN VEWING WINOW FR DOMESTIC RAL TGE Kermit B. Keeling, Sr., and Waiter E. Lewis, Louisville,

Ky., assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 30, 1962, Ser. No. 234,139 3 Claims. (Cl. 126-209) The present invention relates to the design of a viewing window for au oven and particularly an oven in a domestic range.

lt is frequently necessary for the housewife to examine food being cooked in the oven so that the food will not be overcooked. Preferably, the oven should be provided with a Window so that the housewife would not have to open the oven door in order to observe the condition of the food; for the open door would allow heat to escape and the temperature to drop within the oven, and it also might do damage tocertain foods, such as cakes, being baked. Moreover, the sudden heat exposure might be uncomfortable to the housewife and there might be objectionable odors or vapors let into the kitchen. For many years now Windows have been built into the doors of the oven, but special precautions must be taken to prevent moisture and vapors from escaping from the oven Vand becoming lodged in the space between the double thickness of glass in such windows. Moreover, the oven door windows were mostly small in size, because a large amount of heat would otherwise be lost through the window assembly thereby making the front portion of the oven cavity relatively cool and causing uneven cooking results.

ln recent years there has been a trend to recess the top cool-:ing surface of domestic ranges and, of course, this resuits in the lowering of the oven so that a window mounted in the oven door would be quite low to the housewife requiring her to step back from the range and bend over or stoop down where her eyes would be adjacent the level of the vwindow so as to be able to peer at the food within the oven. rI'his operation is made more ditcult by the fact that the oven door window is relatively small as compared with the overall size of the door.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a viewing window for an oven that is conveniently located above the oven and such window has means for thermally isolating the outer window pane from the high temperatures of the oven cavity.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a viewing window of the class described where the window panes may be easily mardpulated for cleaning both sides of the panes.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a viewing window of the class described with window means for preventing convection currents from emanating from the oven liner, as well as the conduction of heat outwardly' of the oven liner, and for utilizing currents of room air for dissipating the heat in the outer window means so as to avoid excessive operating temperatures therein.

The present invention, in accordance with one form thereof, relates to a viewing window for a domestic oven where the window is located along the front of the oven above the oven door. A second window is mounted in the top wall of the oven liner and there is a chute men-- ber located between the lirst and second windows for thermally isolating the two windows from each other, the top portion of the chute member is coveretx with a third Window so as to form a dead air space between the second and third windows and prevent convection currents from being set up by the second window. The rst and third ice windows are easily removable to permit the cleaning of both sides of all thre windows. Moreover, it is well to restrict the maximum operating temperature of the first window and this may be accomplished by directing a current of room air between the first and third windows Where the air is discharged back into the room.

This invention is related to a copendhig application entitled Broil Unit for T op Viewing Oven, of Maurice T. Rose, ir., and Robert A. inlcle, Serial No. 234,140, now Patent No. 3,128,363, which is likewise assigned to the General Electric Company, assignee of the present invention.

Uur invention will be better understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing and its scope will be pointed out in th appended claims.

FGURE 1 is a perspective View of a free-standing electric range embodying the top viewing oven window of the present invention;

FiGURE 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view looking from rie t to left through the top viewing window of FiGURE l;

FIGUR;4 3 is a View similar to that of FIGURE 2 showing the frrst or outer window of the oven raised to an open posi 'on so that the third or intermediate window may be removed for ease in cleaning both sides of all three windows;

FGURE 4 is a fragmentary View taken on the line 4 4 of FIGURE 2 showing the manner in which the intermediate window covers the top portion of the chute member; and

PlGURE 5 is a fragmentary top plan view in crosssection taken on line 5-5 of FIGURE 2 showing the nature of the air channel built into the side wall of the range for bringing relatively cool room air toward the top of the range where the air may pass between the outer window and the intermediate window for restricting the operating temperature of the outer window.

Turning to a consideration of the drawing and in particular to FIGURE l, there is shown a free-standing electric range comprising a cabinet structure or range body lt) that includes a recessed top cooking surface 13. and an oven cavity 12 shown in FEGURE 2 as being located beneath the top cooking surface as in most standard ranges. The cooking surface i1 is shown with a plurality of surface heating units i3, it being understood that each heating unit has a separate selector switch 14- cooperating therewith for governing the various heating levels of the unit.

Turning attention to ElGURE 2, it should be appreciated that the oven cavity l2 is formed by a cooperation between a box-like oven liner lo and a front-opening hinged door 17 for gaining access to the oven. Heating means must be provided for the oven to perform the various cooking operations. Usually, there is a lower bake unit (not shown) and an upper broil unit which is identied as element 19 and which is of special configuration because of the top viewing Yind w 20 which constitutes the invention being claimed herein. ri`his special broil unit 19 forms the subject matter of the copending application of Rose and Kinkle, Serial No. 234,140, which was mentioned previously. For this reason the broil unit has not been fully illustrated nor its features described in detail. As in standard range design practice, heat insulating means such as iioerf'lass material 22 is applied around the outside of the oven liner 16 for retaining as much as possible of the heat Within the oven during the cooking operations.

Rather than having the oven window in the front door i7, a window 20 is located along the front edge 23 of the Cooktop li as is generally taught in the Pellegrin Patent No. 2,428,986. important improvements have been vproaches l550 F.

D incorporated in the present design in order to maire this design acceptable for production and desirable to the housewife as will be completely explained hereinafter. v The inclined front edge 23 of the cooktop is provided with an elongated opening in which is fastened a thin stationary frame member 25 which follows around the edge of the opening as is best seen in FIGURE 1. Control means for'tne oven heating elements are provided at each side of the frame member 25; for example, an oven selector switch 26 and an over thermostat 27. The main purpose of the stationary frame 25 is to support an outer window or window pane 29 which is fastened in a pivoted frame member) that is pivoted to the stationary frame member 25 as by hinge pins or trunnions 31 located at the opposite sides of the pivoted frame 30. FIG- URE 3 gives a better showing of 'the frame members 25 and 30 since the pivoted frame Si) has been raised to its fully open position. rrhe window 29 fits into the pivoted frame Sti in the same manner. that a glass Vlits into a picture frame, that is, from the back `'side thereof. One orrnore clip members Y32 are fastened to the bottom portion of the window frame and are looped around toexert a pinching action against the window pane 2% when the Window is slipped behind the clips. Pivoted clip members 33 are located at the top of the window frame 30 and are fastened thereto by'screw means 34 for confining the top edge of the window in the frame after the lower edge has been slipped in behind the spring clips 32. 'The lowermost edge of the pivoted frame 3@ is provided with an annular portion 36 which extends .horizontally as at '37 beyondrthe narrow frame 25 and then downwardly as at 3S to provide'a grip for the hand. This treatment provides an attractive appearance as well as a hand grip for placement of a thumb thereunder and raising the pivoted` frame Si? thereby.

A second window or window pane 4) is mounted in anV openingin the top wail'lil of the ovenliner 1:3 adjacent the front door opening as is best illustrated in FlGUREV A2. The window this fastened inea double-frame'assemly42 and 43 having opposed surfaces 44 and 4S respectively between which the window liti is confined. Extend- -ing `around the periphery of the window is a suitable voven liner by screw `meanst which hold the window subassernbly in place against a resilient gasket 5l.

The broil unit 19 is of special design in that it cir- -cumvents thel window so that the broil unit cannot be seen easily through the windowZS. This can only be done by extendingthe broil unit 19 closer to the oven Ydoor 17 Which'of course would present a safety hazard because the surface temperature of the broil unit ap- Accordingly, a removable shield 53 is fastented by suitable means to the top front edge of the oven liner beneath the subassembly of the window to re-radiate the heat energy toward the center of the' oven cavity and away from the door 17 to provide a more even oven heat distrbiution as is completely explained in the Rose et al. application mentioned above.

the oven cavity. kSucha viewing means is re resentedY bya chutemember 55 which is supported from the cabinet 10 on Vthe angular door frame member 56 as at 57 as is best shown in FIGURE 2. The chute member 55 is fabricated of thin sheet metal material and it has an inner reilective surface both for presenting a pleasing appearance as well as to provide a viewing window with a double image. By this is meant the housewife may stand directly in front of the range and peer straight through the iirst window 29 and the second window 40 at the food being cooked within the oven cavity 12. There is the added advantage of being able to move away from the range as, for instance, across the kitchenfrom the range. It would still be possible to peer at the food where'the line of sight would be approximately horizontal through the first window 29 and would reect od the back Wall`58- of the chuteV member and then be directed towardthe foodfbeing cooked in the oven. Accordingly, the food lmay be seen either directly through fthe windows 'or indirectly by means of the r'eiiective inner'surfaces ofthe chute member 55.

The lower portion ofthe `chute 55. is provided with outwardly flared 'anges V6i) Ywhich provide a vshroud or cover over the peripheral edges of the subassmebly ofthe Vsecond` window 40 so that the fiberglass insulation 22 between the top wall 41 of the oven'liner and the Cooktop 1l will not be deposited on the vwindow lil and obscure Ythe view. These llared'anges 6i) are out of contact with the oven liner and the lWindow liti, but therel is one or more pointed tabs-6l located at the innermost end of the chute to serve yas afoot member that bears against the top wall di. of the oven liner soas to steadyv the chute against vibratory forces while at the same time restricting the amount of conduction of heat `from the oven liner toward the front window 29.

The second Vwindow d() being fixed in the top wall of f window 40, a third window 63 is positioned Yover the topY portion of the lchute 55y to cover the chute andV establish a dead air space therein. Looking at'PlGURE 4, 'the ppposite side walls of the chute 55 .are provided withindented step members 64 in which the side' edges of the window 63 are rested. The lower portion ofthe window Y v63 lis seated on Ythe front lange'57 Vof'fthe chute and it bears against a tab 65 which preventsthe vwindow'from sliding away from lthe chute. The top edge ofthe window 63 is spring-biased intoia closed position by a'leafspring 66 that is fastened at 67 to the upper portion of vthe back wall 5S of Ythe chute and has a free end 68 that overlies the windowas is best seen in FIGURES.

ln order to clean the three window/S29, '4d-and' 63, it is iirstneces'sary to raise the -pivoted'frame '3010 the open position of FIGURE 3. Next, the .third window/163 is removed by applying an upward force against the Window by use of the palm of theharid and fingers to deiiect the spring member 68 upward so vthat the lower edgeV of the window 63 will rise above the tab 65 so 'that the lower edge .of the window might be grasped Vby the Aother hand and removed from the range. Then it fis, possible to reach through the chute 55 and cleanthe top surface Vof the second window 40, it being understoodjthat the lower surface of the window 4t) wouldbe cleaned by opening the oven door 17 and reaching into the oven cavity. Y

An additional means'is provided for-lowering the operating temperature of the rst or outermost ywindow 29.

`The first window 29 and third Vwindow 63 lare separated from each other by a space 7? which is open atthe opposite sides of the range for bringing in room4 air. that sweeps across theeback side of the iirst window l2? for dissipating the .heat therein. Looking atthe fragmentary .cross-sectional plan View of FIGURE 5, a vertical 'air the Cooktop 11, suitable vent holes 73 are formed along the top edge of the pivoted frame Si) so that this cooling air will be returned to the room.

Having described about the window design of the present invention, it will readily be apparent to those skilled in this art that first and foremost this oven window design is practical for use in the home, and it is capable of being manufactured by mass production methods at a reasonable cost. Furthermore, this viewing window has thermal isolating properties which prevent the operating temperature of the first window 29 from rising above about 150 F. which would be the threshold of an uncomfortable range of temperatures which could not be tolerated by the housewife. Such a high temperature if located toward the back of the range or along the sides would not be a health or safety hazard, but whenever such a high temperature is present near the front working surface of a range then it would become intolerable. This design has also provided for the ease of cleaning the various window elements, and both the conduction and convection of heat from the oven cavity through the window assembly has been substantially reduced. Lastly, moisture has been sealed into the oven cavity so that it cannot escape through the window assembly.

Modications of this invention will occur to those skilled in this art, therefore, it is to be understood, that this invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that it is intended to cover all modiiications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A domestic range comprising a cabinet structure with a Cooktop forming a cooking surface supporting a plurality of surface heating means and a box-like oven liner built into the cabinet beneath the top cooking surface, a frontopening door cooperating with the walls of the oven liner to form an oven cavity, heating means provided for the oven cavity, insulating means surrounding the oven liner for retaining the heat of the oven therein, a tirst window in the front edge of the Cooktop, a second window in the top wall of the oven liner, and gasket means for sealing around the edge of the second window, a chute member positioned between the said first and second Windows, the top edge of the chute being slightly spaced from the rst window, and a third window covering the top of said chute and being separate from the iirst window to form an air channel therebetween, means for allowing room air to pass through the air channel between the first and third windows, and support means for mounting the rst and third Windows so they are easily removable for cleaning both sides of all three windows, the second and third windows having a relatively dead air space therebetween and serving to prevent convection air currents from rising from the second window, the room air passing through the air channel formed between the rst and third windows serving to reduce the convection of heat from the third to the first window thus lowering the operating temperature of the first window.

2. A domestic range comprising a cabinet structure supporting a box-'like oven liner, a front-opening door cooperating with the walls of the oven liner to form an oven cavity, heating means provided for the oven cavity, insulating means surrounding the oven liner for retaining the heat of the oven therein, a window pivotally mounted to the cabinet in the front thereof directly over the oven door, a second window mounted in the top wall of the oven liner, and gasket means for sealing around the edge of the second window to prevent heated air and moisture from escaping from the oven cavity, a chute member supported within the cabinet and eX- tending between the iirst and second windows, the lower portion of the chute member having limited metal-tometal contact with the oven liner so as to reduce the conduction of heat from the liner to the chute, a third window member covering the top opening of the chute, and support means for the third window to render it easily removable from the chute once the tirst window is pivoted open so that both sides of all three windows are accessible to be cleaned, the third window member being supported independently of the first window and spaced therefrom to form an air channel therebetween, means for allowing room air to pass through the air channel between the iirst and third windows so as to reduce the convection of heat from the third to the iirst window thus lowering the operating temperature of the iirst window.

3. A domestic range comprising a cabinet structure having a plurality of surface heating means supported on the top surface thereof and a box-like oven liner but into the cabinet beneath the heating means, a front-opening door cooperating with the walls of the oven liner to form a closed oven cavity, heating means provided for the oven cavity, insulating means surrounding the oven liner for retaining the heat of the oven therein, the front edge of the top of the cabinet being inclined backwardly, said inclined edge supporting an elongated frame member in which is pivoted a iirst window, a second window located in the top wall of the oven liner, and moisture sealing means around the second window to prevent moisture from escaping from the oven cavity, a chute member located between the iirst and second windows but being supported from the cabinet structure at the top end thereof, the lower portion of the chute having limited metal-to-metal contact with the oven liner so as to reduce the conduction of heat from the oven liner to the chute, and a third window closing the top portion of the chute member and being slightly spaced from the first window, an air channel means located in at least one side wall of the cabinet for supplying room air between the first and the third windows so as to reduce the convection of heat from the third window to the first window as well as to lower the operating temperature of the first window, and vent means cooperating with the irst window for allowing the air passing between the iirst and the third windows to return to the room without having to pass under the surface heating means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNtTED STATES PATENTS 2,428,987 Pellegrin Oct. 14, 1947 2,438,270 Cotes Mar. 23, 1948 2,710,994 Mills lune 21, 1955 2,733,706 Feder Feb. 7, 1956 

1. A DOMESTIC RANGE COMPRISING A CABINET STRUCTURE WITH A COOKTOP FORMING A COOKING SURFACE SUPPORTING A PLURALITY OF SURFACE HEATING MEANS AND A BOX-LIKE OVEN LINER BUILT INTO THE CABINET BENEATH THE TOP COOKING SURFACE, A FRONTOPENING DOOR COOPERATING WITH THE WALLS OF THE OVEN LINER TO FORM AN OVEN CAVITY, HEATING MEANS PROVIDED FOR THE OVEN CAVITY, INSULATING MEANS SURROUNDING THE OVEN LINER FOR RETAINING THE HEAT OF THE OVEN THEREIN, A FIRST WINDOW IN THE FRONT EDGE OF THE COOKTOP, A SECOND WINDOW IN THE TOP WALL OF THE OVEN LINER, AND GASKET MEANS FOR SEALING AROUND THE EDGE OF THE SECOND WINDOW, A CHUTE MEMBER POSITIONED BETWEEN THE SAID FIRST AND SECOND WINDOWS, THE TOP EDGE OF THE CHUTE BEING SLIGHTLY SPACED FROM THE FIRST WINDOW, AND A THIRD WINDOW COVERING THE TOP OF SAID CHUTE AND BEING SEPARATE FROM THE FIRST WINDOW TO FORM AN AIR CHANNEL THEREBETWEEN, MEANS FOR ALLOWING ROOM AIR TO PASS THROUGH THE AIR CHANNEL BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THIRD WINDOWS, AND SUPPORT MEANS FOR MOUNTING THE FIRST AND THIRD WINDOWS SO THEY ARE EASILY REMOVABLE FOR CLEANING BOTH SIDES OF ALL THREE WINDOWS, THE SECOND AND THIRD WINDOWS HAVING A RELATIVELY DEAD AIR SPACE THEREBETWEEN AND SERVING TO PREVENT CONVECTION AIR CURRENTS FROM RISING FROM THE SECOND WINDOW, THE ROOM AIR PASSING THROUGH THE AIR CHANNEL FORMED BETWEEN THE FIRST AND THIRD WINDOWS SERVING TO REDUCE THE CONVECTION OF HEAT FROM THE THIRD TO THE FIRST WINDOW THUS LOWERING THE OPERATING TEMPERATURE OF THE FIRST WINDOW. 